How the AquaFence protected Tampa’s hospital during Helene

Sarah Raza, (c) 2024 , The Washington Post
·2-min read
How the AquaFence protected Tampa’s hospital during Helene

As surging water from Hurricane Helene inundated the Tampa Bay area Thursday, Tampa General Hospital stayed dry, thanks to a temporary floodwall that protected the hospital.

In a video posted by the hospital, which sits on an island in Hillsborough Bay, a fence several feet tall keeps the floodwaters at bay as Helene churns through the area.

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The floodwall was made by AquaFence, a Norwegian company that supplies industrial-grade, watertight barriers that can be rapidly deployed in a flood.

“We can confirm the AquaFence worked effectively to prevent the storm surge in Tampa Bay from flooding the TGH main campus on Davis Islands,” Jennifer Crabtree, vice president of corporate communications and chief of staff at the hospital, wrote in a statement.

The AquaFence does not require fill, such as sand, to fortify the barrier. It is made of modules that can be linked to protect entire buildings or be placed in front of entrances. With straps anchoring the modules to the ground, the wall stays put in high winds. And as the floodwaters rise, the floodwall stabilizes to grow stronger with more water.

Tampa General invested in the floodwall in 2019 to protect its main campus from flood threats. The hospital is the only Level 1 trauma center in the region.

Hospital crews set up the barrier Wednesday, the day before Helene, now a tropical storm, arrived in Florida. Capable of withstanding up to 15 feet of storm surge, the AquaFence protected the hospital through the night during the worst of the storm as videos showed floodwaters several feet high swelling on the other side of the barrier.

The floodwall has shielded the hospital through multiple storms over the past five years. It continues to be updated to improve its strength, with resin anchors and concrete attachment points added last year.

“We’re a 100-year-old hospital, and we’re right here on the bay. We can’t evacuate,” Dustin Pasteur, vice president of facilities at the hospital, told Fox News. “There are not enough hospital beds in the region to take our patients.”

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